Topline
Former President Donald Trump suggested on his Truth Social account he should have ignored the Justice Department’s subpoena for classified documents he kept at Mar-A-Lago and repeated his claims that he “did everything right” when he brought a trove of top-secret records to his Florida estate Friday as the DOJ is reportedly intensifying its probe into the matter.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump leaves the stage after speaking during an event at his Mar-A-Lago … [+]
Key Facts
Calling the matter a “Documents Hoax,” Trump said he has “done everything right, except that I probably should not have returned documents until it was ALL settled.”
The renewed defense comes a day after the New York Times reported the DOJ has issued a fresh round of subpoenas in recent weeks to Mar-A-Lago employees as it examines whether Trump took efforts to hide or remove documents after the agency subpoenaed him for the records in 2022.
The DOJ has reportedly also obtained witness testimony from a key insider who provided a photo of the storage room where Trump allegedly kept the documents, according to the Times, which reported the new information marks a notable step forward for investigators.
The Justice Department has also requested surveillance footage from Mar-A-Lago that appears to have been altered, according to the Times.
The findings could build on potential obstruction charges against Trump, which the Justice Department, for months, has believed it has evidence to support, Bloomberg reported in October.
Trump addressed the potential charge on Friday, writing “you can’t have Obstruction of Justice if there is NO CRIME or, even more so, if they MAKE UP A CRIME!”
Surprising Fact
Federal prosecutors also subpoenaed the Trump Organization for records related to Trump’s dealings with the Saudi-affiliated LIV golf league, which has held tournaments at some of Trump’s courses, according to the Times. While the nature of the subpoenas is unclear, they suggest the probe has widened to encompass Trump’s business practices, the Times noted.
Key Background
The Justice Department opened an investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents after he failed to hand over all of the required documents over to the National Archives and Records Administration after vacating the Oval Office. FBI agents searched Mar-A-Lago in August when it suspected Trump did not fully comply with a subpoena to submit all of the remaining records. The DOJ said the raid produced 13,000 documents, including 103 classified documents and 18 labeled top-secret, some of which contained information about Iran’s nuclear program and intelligence-gathering operations in China, The Washington Post reported. Prosecutors have subpoenaed nearly every Mar-A-Lago employee in the investigation, the Times reported Friday.
What We Don’t Know
How the probes into President Joe Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence’s handling of classified materials will pan out. The total number of classified documents found in Biden’s possession is 22. Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed former federal prosecutor Robert Hur as special counsel to investigate the matter. Pence’s attorneys revealed they also found a “small number of documents” at his Carmel, Indiana, home in January. The FBI also conducted a voluntary search of the property and found one additional classified document.
Further Reading
How The Biden Documents Differ From The Trump Records Found At Mar-A-Lago (Forbes)
Mar-A-Lago Raid: FBI Investigating Whether Trump Violated These 3 Statutes (Forbes)
More Trump Legal Trouble: Feds Reportedly Find New Evidence In Mar-A-Lago Case As Trump Faces N.Y. Charges (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2023/05/05/trump-regrets-complying-with-doj-subpoena-ishould-not-have-returned-documents/